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Are Our Relationships in Heaven Part of Our Eternal Rewards?

Are Our Relationships in Heaven Part of Our Eternal Rewards?

Last updated on: October 28, 2024 at 8:37 am by Randy Alcorn

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Are Our Relationships in Heaven Part of Our Eternal Rewards? 2024-09-19T08:43:15-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). So what is our treasure? A. W. Tozer suggested we may discover the answer by responding to four basic questions:

What do we value most?

What would we most hate to lose?

What do our thoughts turn to most frequently when we are free to think of what we will?

What affords us the greatest pleasure?

Based on your answers to these four questions, what’s your treasure?

Many would list people and relationships as their treasures. Other than Jesus, the greatest treasure I’ve ever had on Earth is Nanci. Because Jesus is in Heaven, and He is my greatest treasure, my heart has long been there. But with Nanci also there, my heart and mind are often in that other place. I’m encouraged by the command, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2).

I often think of all the people from all over the world Nanci has been meeting and getting to know and love—those we had the privilege of helping through our giving, and who thereby received the gospel, food, clothes, clean water, medicines, Bibles, and good books. Sometimes I feel like part of me went to Heaven with Nanci. That’s not only because of our deep love for each other, but because she and I partnered together to invest in people for eternity. I so look forward not only to seeing old friends but to having Nanci introduce me to these new friends we invested in before we ever met them!

In this clip from my interview on the Finish Line Podcast, I discuss how relationships with others that result from our giving are part of our reward, both now and in Heaven:

Here are some thoughts related to Luke 16 and what I shared in the audio clip:

Christ’s parable of the shrewd manager, often called the “unrighteous steward,” is a powerful revelation about the eternal consequences of what we do with our money while on Earth. The parable concerns a wealthy owner who fires his business manager for wasting his assets (see Luke 16:1-13). During the brief period before his termination is effective, the steward goes to his master’s debtors and reduces their debt, thereby engendering their friendship and qualifying for their hospitality.

Despite the ethical issues, Jesus says, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” Jesus then adds this profound command to his disciples: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:8-9).

Jesus does not endorse the man’s ethics. Rather, he encourages us to follow the manager’s example of using available resources to plan wisely for our futures.

We will be terminated from this life just as the shrewd steward was terminated from his job, and likely just as unexpectedly. As his master appointed a day for his service to end, so ours has chosen a day for our lives to end, when we will give an account of our stewardship. Worldly wealth will soon be gone. Before then, we should do exactly what this manager did—use wisely what little remaining time, influence, and financial resources we have before our term of stewardship is done.

Jesus doesn’t tell us to stay away from the mammon of unrighteousness or “worldly wealth.” He says to use it “to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). Money can be a tool of Christ, but it must be used that way now. There’s no second chance to use the money for Christ later. After his termination was effective, the steward would have no more leverage. He used his final days of service to win friends who could take him into their dwellings when his work was done.

After we die, Jesus is telling us, when our present assets of money, possessions, time, and life are gone, we may be welcomed by friends into eternal dwellings.

Who are these friends? Apparently, people in Heaven whom we touched in a significant way through the use of material assets on Earth. Consequently, they will open to us their own “eternal dwelling places.” The reference is plural, not singular—places, not place.

We don’t get to Heaven because we use money wisely. But we do gain access to other people’s individual residences in Heaven. Unlike the shrewd servant, Christians will have a wonderful place to live in Heaven even without visiting others’ dwellings. But like the shrewd steward, we will be welcomed into others’ homes because we have used money and other resources to reach and serve them.

This raises important questions. What kind of building materials are we sending ahead to Heaven for our own dwelling place? Who have we influenced spiritually to the point that they would welcome us into their eternal dwelling places? To what needy people have we sacrificially given our resources?

In eternity we’ll worship God with people of every tribe, nation, and language. We’ll say thanks to them, and they’ll say thanks to us for acts of faithfulness done for Christ while we lived on Earth. We’ll tell our stories and listen to theirs, enjoying the warmth, sharing the joy, with our Lord the center of attention. Those whom we have influenced for Christ, directly or indirectly, will know and appreciate us and desire our fellowship in Heaven. What a thought!

Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? If picturing those scenes in Heaven doesn’t give you a purpose for living, I don’t know what will!

See Randy’s book The Law of Rewards for more on eternal rewards.

Photo: Unsplash

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